ESPOO, Finland, Oct. 27, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EduCycle, a learning tool which utilizes augmented reality, has been selected the winning concept in Neste's Pre-order the Future project. It helps children to see, in the form of a game, how our choices affect the climate. The project represents the next step Neste is about to take: expanding the company's technological expertise in renewable raw materials to new areas, such as plastics and chemicals.

EduCycle, the winning concept, is an interactive learning tool that makes use of augmented reality. Using EduCycle, children learn to understand the cycle of coal and the impact of our choices on the climate and environment. By adding different elements, such as buildings, cars and trees, to the game platform, players can see how nature reacts to these elements.

The EduCycle prototype will be completed in spring 2017 in cooperation with Aalto University. It will be built utilizing renewable raw materials as much as possible. Neste is committed to enabling the production of the prototype.

"Neste is the world's leading producer of renewable diesel and, in the future, we will be much more. This is why we are working actively to develop the use of renewable raw materials, also in other products and services. The long-term objective of the Pre-order the Future project is to illustrate that there is massive potential around us to use renewable materials and to build completely new kinds of products and services," says Matti Lievonen, President and CEO of Neste.

The winning concept was selected by a jury consisting of Matti Lievonen, President and CEO of Neste; Kaisa Hietala, Executive Vice President of Renewable Products; Price Ea, futurologist; Jaana Beideler, Professor at Aalto University; and student Veera Vihmo.

Pre-order the Future and the IKEA partnership encourage to make sustainable choices

In the Pre-order the Future project, Neste explored bold and innovative solutions for a cleaner and more sustainable future. Experts were able to develop concepts that are not directly related to Neste's business operations, but are directed towards a low-carbon society and lower emissions. As a result, five different project concepts were created: public areas, entertainment, travel, learning, and digital services.

Project videos made together with Prince Ea, the project frontman and a futurologist and spoken word artist from the United States, have had more than 350 million views. Prince Ea helped to inspire consumers around the world to further develop the project concepts and to come up with completely new ideas.

In September, Neste and IKEA announced that they have joined their forces in order to become leading providers of renewable bio-based materials and plastics. In this partnership, objectives meet values in a productive way: IKEA's long-term objective is to use plastics manufactured only from renewable or recycled raw materials in its home furniture, and Neste has the solution to manufacture renewable plastics.

Neste's growth will focus on renewable products. Both the Pre-order the Future project and especially the IKEA partnership support Neste's strategic goal to grow globally in renewable products. The company does what the Pre-order the Future project urges: The future must be made.

Neste Corporation

Osmo Kammonen
SVP, Communications and Brand Marketing

More information: www.preorderthefuture.com

Neste in brief

Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) builds sustainable options for the needs of transport, businesses and consumers.  Our global range of products and services allows customers to lower their carbon footprint by combining high-quality and low-emission renewable products and oil products to tailor-made service solutions. We are the world's largest producer of renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, and we are also bringing renewable solutions to the aviation and plastics industries. We want to be a reliable partner whose expertise, research and sustainable practices. In 2015, Neste's net sales stood at EUR 11 billion, and we were on the Global 100 list of the 100 most sustainable companies in the world. Read more: neste.com

CONTACT: Neste Corporation
         Osmo Kammonen
         SVP, Communications and Brand Marketing
         Investor Relations, tel. +358 10 458 5292